Nest architecture and traffic flow: large potential effects from small structural features

1. Research on human pedestrian dynamics predicts that seemingly small architectural features of the surroundings can have large effects on the behaviour of crowds and the flow of pedestrian traffic, particularly when a crowd is panicked. This theoretical framework might usefully be applied to the study of collective movement within subterranean nests of social insects.

[1]  W. Tschinkel,et al.  Nest architecture of the ant Formica pallidefulva: structure, costs and rules of excavation , 2004, Insectes Sociaux.

[2]  J. Deneubourg,et al.  Shape transition during nest digging in ants , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[3]  Robert Droual,et al.  The organization of nest evacuation in Pheidole desertorum wheeler and P. hyatti emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) , 1983, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[4]  Marcus W. Feldman,et al.  Niche Construction , 2003 .

[5]  W. Tschinkel,et al.  The Nest Architecture of the Ant Odontomachus brunneus , 2010, Journal of insect science.

[6]  S. Valverde,et al.  The structure of gallery networks in the nests of termite Cubitermes spp. revealed by X-ray tomography , 2008, Naturwissenschaften.

[7]  Guy Theraulaz,et al.  Efficiency and robustness in ant networks of galleries , 2004 .

[8]  I D Couzin,et al.  Self-organized lane formation and optimized traffic flow in army ants , 2003, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[9]  Rodrigo Escobar,et al.  Architectural Design for the Survival Optimization of Panicking Fleeing Victims , 2003, ECAL.

[10]  J. Herbers,et al.  Nest temperatures and thermal preferences of a forest ant species: is seasonal polydomy a thermoregulatory mechanism ? , 1997, Insectes Sociaux.

[11]  D. Gordon,et al.  Seasonal spatial dynamics and causes of nest movement in colonies of the invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) , 2006 .

[12]  The organization of flood evacuation in the ant genusPheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) , 1986, Insectes Sociaux.

[13]  E. Diehl,et al.  Nest architecture and colony size of the fungus-growing ant Mycetophylax simplex Emery, 1888 (Formicidae, Attini) , 2007, Insectes Sociaux.

[14]  T. Stickland,et al.  Computer image analysis provides new observations of ant behaviour patterns , 1994, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[15]  Katsuhiro Nishinari,et al.  Modelling of self-driven particles: Foraging ants and pedestrians , 2006 .

[16]  Katie Johnson,et al.  A mathematical and experimental study of ant foraging trail dynamics. , 2006, Journal of theoretical biology.

[17]  Carl Anderson,et al.  The extended organism: The physiology of animal-built structures , 2000, Complex..

[18]  Sang-Hee Lee,et al.  Rounding a corner of a bent termite tunnel and tunnel traffic efficiency , 2008, Behavioural Processes.

[19]  M. Burd,et al.  Traffic Dynamics of the Leaf‐Cutting Ant, Atta cephalotes , 2002, The American Naturalist.

[20]  J. Deneubourg,et al.  Self-organized digging activity in ant colonies , 2005, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[21]  Alexander John,et al.  Collective effects in traffic on bi-directional ant trails. , 2004, Journal of theoretical biology.

[22]  A. Suarez,et al.  An experimental study of competition between fire ants and Argentine ants in their native range. , 2007, Ecology.

[23]  W. Hangartner.  Carbon Dioxide, a Releaser for Digging Behavior in Solenopsis geminata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) , 1969 .

[24]  A. J. Batista-Leyva,et al.  Symmetry Breaking in Escaping Ants , 2005, The American Naturalist.

[25]  Edward O. Wilson,et al.  The organization of colony defense in the ant Pheidole dentata mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) , 1976, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[26]  Julianne D. Halley,et al.  Excavation and architecture of Argentine ant nests , 2005, Insectes Sociaux.

[27]  Clifford Johnson,et al.  A Slave-Making Ant in Florida: Polyergus Lucidus with Observations on the Natural History of its Host Formica Archboldi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) , 1985 .

[28]  Dirk Helbing,et al.  Optimal traffic organization in ants under crowded conditions , 2004, Nature.

[29]  A. Wild,et al.  Taxonomy and Distribution of the Argentine Ant, Linepithema humile (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) , 2004 .

[30]  L. C. Forti,et al.  The nest architecture of the ant, Pheidole oxyops Forel, 1908 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) , 2007 .

[31]  Martin Burd,et al.  Optimality in a partitioned task performed by social insects , 2008, Biology Letters.

[32]  Nirajan Shiwakoti,et al.  Enhancing the Safety of Pedestrians during Emergency Egress , 2009 .

[33]  F. Roces,et al.  Carbon dioxide concentrations and nest ventilation in nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri , 2000, Insectes Sociaux.

[34]  W. Tschinkel.  Subterranean ant nests: trace fossils past and future? , 2003 .

[35]  D. Wheeler,et al.  Regulation of temperature , 2004 .

[36]  Dirk Helbing,et al.  Simulating dynamical features of escape panic , 2000, Nature.

[37]  M. Moffett,et al.  Driver Ants Invading a Termite Nest: Why Do the Most Catholic Predators of All Seldom Take This Abundant Prey? , 2007 .

[38]  Lubos Buzna,et al.  Self-Organized Pedestrian Crowd Dynamics: Experiments, Simulations, and Design Solutions , 2005, Transp. Sci..

[39]  M. Burd,et al.  Central-place foraging continues beyond the nest entrance: the underground performance of leaf-cutting ants , 2005, Animal Behaviour.

[40]  B. Hölldobler,et al.  “Wall-papering” and elaborate nest architecture in the ponerine antHarpegnathos saltator , 1994, Insectes Sociaux.